Starting device for explosion-engines with four cylinders.



H. SAURER. 'STARTING DEVICE FOR EXPLOSION ENGINES WITH FOUR CYLINDERS. APPLICATION FILED APR. 24, 1906.

906,668. Patented Dec. 15, 1908.

2 SHEBTS SHEET 1.

.Z NVE T R w/ TA/ES-S H. SAURER. STARTING DEVICE FOR EXPLOSION ENGINES WITH F OUR CYLINDERS.

APPLIOATION FILED APR. 24, 1906.

Patented Dec. 15, 1908.

2 SHEETS-SHEET 2.

JNVEN TOP provide a sto HIPPOLYT saunas, or Anson, SWITZERLAND.

STARTING DEVICE FOR EXPLOSION-ENGINES WITH FOUR CYLINDERS.

Specification of Letters Patent.

Patented Dec. 15, 1908.

Application filed April 24, 1906. Serial No. 313,437.

To all whom it may concern:

Be it known that I, -HIPPOLYT SAU'RER, a citizen of the Confederation of Switzerland, residing at Arbon, in Switzerland, havein vented a new and useful Starting Device for Explosion-Engines with Four Cylinders, of which the followin is a'specification.

My invention re ates to improvements in startin devices for explosion-engines with four cy linders, and a crank-shaft having its four cranks set in one and the same plane, whereby the advantage is obtained, that compressed air can be either of the four cylinders alone for starting the engine, while the other cylinders are left in their usual state, in other words, they are enabled to at once work in the usual four stroke cycle. Thereby the starting of the engine is simplified and the consumption of compressed air is considerably reduced, since this com ressed air is required only for a single cy inder. v

The objects of my'im rovement are, first, to provide arotary distributing valve, which is driven from the engine; and is arranged to supply the compressed air to each of the four cylinders consecutively only during the expansion stroke of its piston; and, second, to -valve under the control ofthe driver for a mitting the compressed air to the rotary distributing valve only when this is required. I attain these objects by the mechanism lllustrated in the accompanying drawings, in which Figure 1 is a longitudinal section through .half a vertical cylinder of the engine and through the starting device on the broken line AB in Fig. 2, Fi 2 is a plan on a reduced scale of the exp osion-engine as used with an automobile and provided with the starting device, 3 is a vertical section on an enlarged scale through the starting device on the line C--D in Fig. 2, the stop-valve controllin the supply of compressed air being slightly modified, Fi 4 ilustrates diagrammatically the four cylinders with their pistons, connecting rods and the crank-shaft and Fig. 5 is a side view of Fig. 4 so as to show that the four cranks of the crank-shaft are all in one and the same plane.

Similar letters of reference refer to similar parts throughout the several views.

My invention is founded upon the observation, that after the disengagement of its igniting device an explosion-engine with four at once admitted to' cylinders and a crank-shaft having itsfour cranks set in one and the same plane (see Fig. 4) will stop at such a moment, at which the cranks occupy a horizontal position or very nearly so. l/Vhen assuming the engine to be provided with a standard valve-gear, the piston in one of the four cylinders Will invariably stop in the middle of its stroke, during which the expansion of the exploded gases takes place. It is this cylinder, into which according to my invention the compressed air is admitted for starting the engine. For the position of its piston is so favorable, that the com ressed air acting upon the piston will be ab e to at once overcome the resistance of the en ine during the start of the latter, so that uring the following stroke of the piston in the same cylinder the exhaust of the air (corres JOIldlH to that of the wasted gases during tl IG usua l work) can take place, whereupon the usual cycle commences.

A casin q is disposed near the engine and a rotary istributing valve g of any known construction is mounted in this casing to turn. Itis rigidly connected with a shaft T, which is mounted in a suitable bracket .9 to turn and may be driven from the cam shaft 0 by means of two gear wheels h and h respectively. On the cam shaft 0 are fastened the several cams d, which serve for actuating in. the usual manner the several inlet-valves I) (see Fig. 1) of the four cylinders a a a and'w. The casing g is provided with four tubular connection pieces f which can register at different moments with suitable holes f 2 f 2 in the hollow rotary distributing valve g. The latter is open at the right end in Fig. 3 and its cavity communicates with'a valve-box t, in which a stop-valve 7c is dis osed. This stop-valve 7c is normally presser on its seat by means of a helical spring u and can be opened from the drivers seat (not shown) in any known manner, for exam le by means of abell-crank lever n 0 and a ror p. The chamber beneath the stop-valve la is put in communication with a convenient storage vessel Z for compressed air by means of a suitable tube 2'. An airum' m is disposed for supplying the vessel wit compressed air under a pressure of say 8 or 9 atmospheres. The construction of the air-pum m is immaterial and it should be arrange( to be coupled at will in any known manner with the shaft 7 from the drivers seat during the motion of the vehicle, so as to keep the vessel Z well filled with compressed air. Eachcylinder a is at its up er end put in communication ,with aval i e box w 5 through a convenient channel 1; and .this valve-box 'w is connected with the respective tubular connection piece f on the casing g by distributing valve 9 and the ratio of the two gear wheels hand 72. shouldbe so proportioned, that-only one of the four tubular connection pieces jf may register with the respective opening f 2 for the horizontal-position of that crank, which is drivendownwards during the stroke of expansion from the pis-' ton in the respective cylinder a.

The starting device is operated as follows: i

The vehicle and therewith the engine may be nearly so accordingto the above statement. When. the driver is desirous of startin the engine, he actuates by the respective ever or other part the rod 22 for op'enin the stop-valve 7c, so'that compressed air will be admitted from the storage vessell to the respective cylinder (1 through the correspondin opening f in the rotary distributing va vs 9, which openin at this moment registers with its tubi ar connection piece f and through the tube f. The. compressed air will open the 'safetyevalve e, enter the cylinder a and act. upon its iston. The

a and a however remain, as they are, so that the driver can at once open the respective stop-valve for admitting the explosive agent to the engine and he can also at once a ow the respective igniting devices to o erate. The consequence of this will be, t at the compressed air in the respective cylinder will not only force the piston downwards, but also com ressthe air or mixture contained in one of t e other three cylinders by means of the connecting rods and the,

' same assumed to be at rest, so that one of'thefour' cranks will occupy a horizontal position or valve gears for all the four cylinders a, 0

already been put into' motion. Therefore the driver can release the rod ,1 and thereby permit the sto -valve 7a to close and thus to stop the. supp y ofcompressed air,.the moment the piston in the first cylinder has reachedits lowermost position. At this moment the explosive mixture in the second cylinder is ignited, so that an explosion Will take place and the engine can continue its usual work in the four stroke cycle.

It will be seen, that the new starting device is very simple and merely serves for introducing compressed air into either of the four cylinders at the proper moment and for half the combination with four juxtaposed vertical cylinders each provided with an inletvalve and a channel at its top, of a crank shaft having all four cranks laced in the lane and connected with the pistons in 'sai four cylinders, a cam shaft driven from said crank-shaft for actuating said four inlet valves, a cylindrical casing parallel to 9 said cam shaft and provided with four tubular connections in a row parallel to its axis, our tubes-between the channels of said four cylinders and the four tubular connections of. saidcylindrical casing, means under the control of the driver for supplying compressed air to said cylindrical casing, and a rotatory distributing valve mounted in said cylindricalcasing to turn and driven from said cam shaft by gearing, it being adapted to supply the compressed air through the tubular connections to each of said four cylinders consecutively only during the expansion stroke of its piston for starting the engine.

2. .In a four stroke cycle explosion-engine, the combination with four juxta osed vertical cylinders each provided wit an inletvalve. and a channel at its top, of a crankshaft having all four cranks placed in the same plane and connected with the pistons in said four cylinders, a cam shaft driven from said crank-shaft foractuating said four inlet-valves, four valve-boxes communicating with the four channels of said four cylin, ders, a cylindrical casing parallel to said cam shaft and provided with. four tubular connectio s in a row parallel 'to its axis, four tubes between said four valve-boxes and the four tubular connections of said casing, four spring-pressed valves in said four valve boxes and adapted to open under a pressure in the tubes and to close under a pressure in the cylinders, means underthecontrol of the driver for supplying compressed air to said cylindrical casing, and a rotary distributing 1 valve mounted in said cylindrical casing to In testimony whereof I h sive signed my turn and driven from said cam shaft by gei rname to this specification in the presence of ing, it being edapxted t0 su ply the comtwo subscribing witnesses.

pressed air throug the tubu 211' connections HIPPOLYT SAURER. 5 to each of said four cylinders consecutively Witnesses:

only during the expansion stroke of its pis- MARY FALCONER,

ton for starting the engine. CARL KAUFMANN. 

